Brendan at the Chelsea

Published Tuesday 22 January 2008 at 18:10 by Catherine Usher

It takes a compassionate person to find the character of Brendan Behan - as he’s portrayed in Brendan at the Chelsea - remotely appealing.

Wallowing in a cocktail of alcohol and self-pity, Adrian Dunbar’s Brendan relies too heavily on the luck of the Irish to pull him through. The play is based on fact - written by his niece Janet Behan, it tells the tale of her uncle, an Irish writer in the early sixties, who was a resident at New York’s Chelsea Hotel several months before he died.

With more gags than moments of poignancy, Brendan is a frustrating, self-involved figure, for whom it is difficult to feel any sympathy. Lovers, friends and even his neglected wife try to lift him out of his rut, but he intently steers himself down the road to self destruction and it seems nothing will make him deviate from his path.

Dunbar does an excellent job of bringing Brendan’s character to life, but once his true personality becomes apparent, it’s hard to thank him for it. Other fleeting figures are far easier to empathise with, most notably the array of personalities played by Jonathan Tafler and Joel Dommett, who are best suited to the most flamboyant - and sometimes female - roles.

Eva Crompton is less confident as dancer Lianne. Charged with looking after Brendan, Crompton captures her vulnerability admirably, but never appears comfortable with her American accent.

Brid Brennan shines as Brendan’s desperate wife, who loves her husband despite his numerous flaws. Far from falling for his patter, she is fully aware of her husband’s inadequacies and is credible in her determination to stick by a man she perceives as special.

Lost in the spacious surrounds of Riverside’s Studio Two, the show would benefit immensely from a more intimate setting which would perhaps serve to create a closer understanding of the main man.

Those that like their heroes to be rebels may well worship at the altar of Brendan at the Chelsea, marvelling at his frequently poetic, reckless nature. For the rest though, he’s a self-absorbed, cowardly individual who becomes tiresome company before his time is up.